Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Loki Season 2.

Throughout the years, detective duos have always been a highlight of TV. From Rust Cohle and Marty Hart in True Detective to Fox Mulder and Dana Scully from The X-Files, even Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson in Sherlock, there is always something fascinating about two great minds trying to solve a mystery and bonding while doing so. With the return of Loki Season 2, we have a candidate to add to that TV detective hall of fame: the unlikely duo of Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Mobius (Owen Wilson). Their odd, burgeoning relationship was a highlight of the first season, and their camaraderie is only growing stronger in season 2.

Loki and Mobius Are the TVA’s Dream Team

After growing quite attached to Loki and Mobius as partners and friends during Season 1, the shocking cliffhanger of a finale made us wait in a two-year purgatory where we were led to believe Mobius had forgotten about Loki and maybe even his dreams of riding a Jet Ski. But the worry was all for naught, as it turns out Loki had just time-slipped to the past, explaining why Mobius didn’t remember him. Once he got himself back to whatever time “present day” is considered in the TVA, the two got right back to work without skipping a beat.

Though their relationship got off to a rocky start in Season 1, Mobius recognized something in Loki that no one else had before. And because he invested a little trust into the trickster god, he was able to help unlock a part of Loki that had always been there — his humanity. Now, as we see in Episode 2, “Breaking Brad,” Loki and Mobius have really solidified their trust in one another as they, well, break Brad (Rafael Casal).

Hunter X-5 Becomes Brad Wolfe (aka Zaniac)

The hunt for Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) leads Loki and Mobius to London in 1977 where they run into TVA Hunter X-5 — but he’s a little different. Having embraced his life on the Sacred Timeline as movie star Brad Wolfe, X-5 does not want to leave the premiere of his new film Zaniac to go back to the TVA. A chase ensues and thanks to some classic Loki mischief, they’re able to capture “Brad” and put him in holding at the TVA. But Brad’s demeanor remains unchanged and even though Mobius warns everyone, “Brad’s an asshole,” their initial interrogation is still a train wreck. Brad pushes all the buttons on the two, starting with Loki. He tells Loki that he is always the root of every problem, an utter failure who makes everything worse. He even makes a heart-wrenching jab at Loki’s mother, which is extremely personal since her death back in Thor: The Dark World is Loki’s fault. But it is the final thing that Brad says that leads us to believe Loki’s actions to come, “You’re a villain. And you’re good at it.”

After turning his attention from Loki to Mobius, giving him the largest existential crisis of his life, and telling him he’d make a great actor (meta commentary or foreshadowing?) due to his blind devotion to the TVA, the two regroup and decide it's time to shift gears. In round two, Loki and Mobius opt for the good cop, bad cop routine, and wheel in an ominous golden contraption. As they begin to hook up the machine, Brad calls their efforts desperate and asks who came up with the script. Ignoring him, Loki tells Mobius that they left the controller behind and as Mobius steps out to grab it, the “script” to their unorthodox good cop, bad cop play begins.

Loki and Mobius are Marvel's "Good Cop, Bad Cop"

Loki shuts the door behind Mobius, locking himself in with X-5. At the sound of the door sealing shut, Brad is immediately perturbed and Loki has the upper hand and freedom to access his deliciously mischievous side. As Loki pontificates in that way only Loki can, Mobius pounds on the door, demanding to be let in. Loki asks again for Sylvie’s location and with Brad still not budging, Loki uses his own words against him. “I’m not trying to be a hero, Brad. I’m a villain. Remember?” As Loki sells his line reading and Mobius continues to hopelessly pound against the door, yelling to Loki that he isn’t a villain anymore, we buy it. It genuinely seems that Loki has gone too deep into his mischievous side and that he may be about to perform some torture on Brad like that eye-removal thing he did in The Avengers.

Brad backs away slowly, apologizing for his insults, yelling to Mobius for help. Trapping him in the amber-colored box of constant claustrophobia, the stakes are real, and Loki genuinely holds Brad’s life in his hands. It isn’t until the very last moment that Brad relents and gives up Sylvie’s location. Having finally broken Brad and gotten the information they needed, Mobius opens the “locked door” and we all breathe a collective sigh of relief as they congratulate each other on the scheme.

The reason this scene works so well is because of the way it is set up for us to buy into it during the first interrogation. Brad calls Loki a villain, which we discard due to understanding Loki’s development, but it sticks in the back of our minds. He also calls Mobius an actor, the context is a little different, but we discard this information the same as we did with his comments about Loki. However, during Loki’s solo interrogation, we are forced to consider Brad’s remarks, is Loki relapsing? And we forget about what he said to Mobius until we realized the door was never locked… he would make a great actor!

RELATED: 'Loki’ Season 2 Reminds Us That the TVA Is Way Worse Than Thanos

Loki Has Grown Tremendously Since the Events of 'The Avengers'

Putting our collective enjoyment of Loki and Mobius’ flawless tag team operation aside, this episode provides some of the most concrete development for Loki’s character yet. Brad, having read Loki’s file, throws everything he can think of at Loki, who remains calm and collected throughout. It turns out to be Mobius who snaps, slapping Brad across the face and making for the exit in anger.

Loki consoles him and is genuinely concerned for his friend. They even sit down and discuss their emotions over some key-lime pie. To help Mobius feel better about his outburst, Loki mentions the events of Avengers, reflecting on his villainous actions as built-up rage from being angry at his father and brother. Not as “glorious purpose” or as his quest to become ruler of Midgard, but as his emotions getting the better of him. This is astronomical growth for Loki, not to mention one of the most intriguing moments in the MCU, as Loki reflects on a specific moment that happened over a decade ago (in our time).

Loki and Mobius continue to be a strong contender for best MCU duo and by the end of the season, they just might take the cake altogether. They keep each other in check and are concerned about each other's well-being, and by the end of this episode it is safe to say they genuinely trust each other; and that is saying a lot, considering one of them is known as the trickster God of mischief.